Dean Henderson Permanent?

[Patrick Suffaux]

I think £20m is about right for him. For a PL quality goalkeeper his age you would be lucky to pay less than that. If that’s what they want just take it out of next summer’s budget and pay it.

 

[itsinyerblood]

There seems to be a few ingredients in Henderson's role as the keeper of SUFC that are either negotiable or non-negotiable, and key to understanding the areas that won't change are the fact that he's first and foremost a Manchester United player, and from all accounts his desire to become their main goalkeeper is the thing that drives him to set standards that only he will understand. I'd love to see us sign him as the understanding that has evolved between our defence and Henderson has been remarkable in it's consistency and willingness to initiate attacks. We're constantly asking questions that seem integral to our development as a newly arrived Premier Division club. Where I think this relationship is destined to part is his home club's valuation of their player. I've seen the figure of £20 million mentioned a lot, but in truth the fact that we've performed so admirably this season will only contribute to what I believe will be a far higher figure based on such indefinable's as the player is signed to Manchester United, who for the last few seasons haven't exactly competed at the level they'd feel they're entitled to, but even with the skewered claims to be this or that type of club, they probably still imagine they are a shoe-in at football's top table, a place that they once took for granted but is no longer guaranteed.

My take is that any fee for Henderson will begin at around £35 million, maybe even £40 million, victims of our own success you might say. There's also the question of whether Henderson really wishes to play for us full time, so any negotiations would only begin once we knew just how committed the player is to the idea of signing for us. No doubt Wilder is already considering who's available and who has the qualities to fit in with an already superb defence. Whoever ends up as our next full-time keeper will need a blend of instinctive reflexes alongside being able to command his area, giving the expected confidence to a defence used to the highest levels we've come to expect from a player like Henderson.